"The international community needs more political will to undertake climate change mitigation, adaptation and climate finance activities," Guterres was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

"We are losing the race for climate change, which could be a disaster for Africa and the world. Africa will pay even higher price because of the dramatic impact in the continent even though Africa doesn't contribute much to the warming of the planet," the UN chief told a press conference on the sidelines of the 32nd ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU).

Guterres said the UN was undertaking activities to raise awareness of the international community to do more in addressing challenges of climate change, despite inadequate attention given to the threat.

The UN chief also praised African countries for hosting fellow African refugees despite limited domestic resources. On Friday, the AU said Africa was home to over one third of the global population of displaced people.

The theme of this year's AU summit is "Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa."